Biotechnology - The next wave
Prof TE Cloete, University of Pretoria
Biotechnology is very much the buzzword amongst scientists and the public in
South Africa. What is biotechnology, where is it headed and why is it
important?
The South African government has shown its clear intention to keep South
Africa on track with biotechnological research and development by allocating
R400 million over the next three years towards its biggest ever single research
support for biotechnology.
This money was earmarked for three Biotechnology Regional innovation Centres
(BRIC's) in Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Western Cape. The Gauteng BRIC will
be known as BioPAD (Biotechnology partnerships and development) and be governed
by a newly formed board of trustees representing the major stakeholders.
Science and technology have become a pillar of our knowledge based society
and a fundamental catalyst for economic development. Science ultimately supports
the innovations and concepts that meet societal needs and drive economies. For
many developing countries there are no more important steps toward eradicating
poverty than to provide adequate nutrition and to suppress diseases that drain a
populations strength, morale and earning ability. The Department of Science and
Technology have realised that these challenges are best addressed by people who
are well trained in modern biotechnological sciences and who live among the very
problems they study. By training more local scientists in biotechnology, South
Africa can create the human resources we need to confront such biological
challenges on our own home ground.
According to Professor Eugene Cloete, Chairperson of the School for
Biological Sciences at the University of Pretoria, BioPAD (Biotechnology
Partnerships and Development) was established as one of the BRIC's, to
pro-actively address challenges posed by the varied needs of the region and the
continent, including a need for world-class skills and technology platforms to
sustain and continue development.
Life sciences and biotechnology are widely recognised to be, after
information technology, the next wave of the knowledge-based economy, creating
new opportunities for our societies and economies.
Revolutions in life sciences
A revolution is taking place in the knowledge base of life sciences and
biotechnology, opening up new applications in human healthcare, animal health,
agriculture and food production, environmental protection and mining. The common
knowledge base relating to living organisms and ecosystems is producing new
scientific disciplines such as genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics and novel
applications. These in turn offer the prospect of applications with profound
impacts throughout our society and economy, far beyond uses such as genetically
modified plant crops.
There are, for example, still no known cures for half of the world's
diseases, and even existing cures such as antibiotics are becoming less
effective due to resistance of microorganisms to treatments. Biotechnology
already enables cheaper, safer and more ethical production of a growing number
of traditional as well as new drugs and medical services (e.g. human growth
hormone without risk of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, treatment for haemophiliacs
with unlimited sources of coagulation factors free from AIDS and hepatitis C
virus, human insulin, and vaccines against hepatitis B and rabies).
In the agro-food area, biotechnology has the potential to deliver improved
food quality and environmental benefits through agronomically improved crops.
The enhancement of natural resistance to disease or stress in plants and animals
can lead to reduced use of chemical pesticides, fertilisers and drugs, and
increased use of conservation tillage - and hence more sustainable agricultural
practices, reducing soil erosion and benefiting the environment. Life sciences
and biotechnology are likely to be one of the important tools in fighting hunger
and malnutrition and feeding an increasing human population on the currently
cultivated land area, with reduced environmental impact. Biotechnology also has
the potential to improve non-food uses of crops as sources of industrial
feedstocks or new materials such as biodegradable plastics.
New ways to protect and improve the environment are offered by biotechnology
including bioremediation of polluted air, soil, water and waste as well as
development of cleaner industrial products and processes, for example, based on
the use of enzymes (biocatalysis).
The success of any knowledge-based economy rests upon the generation,
diffusion and application of new knowledge. Investments in research and
development, education and training and new managerial approaches are therefore
of key importance in meeting the challenges posed by life sciences and
biotechnology.
The potential for applications of life sciences and biotechnology promises to
be a growing source of wealth creation in the future, leading to the creation of
jobs, many of which will be highly skilled, and new opportunities for investment
in further research.
Scientific and engineering knowledge has to be matched with entrepreneurial
management skills for successful company operation. Comprehensive, up-to-date
and publicly and freely available bioinformatics data are the basis for advances
in biotechnology. In order to flourish, companies need access to high-quality
public and private databases and tools.
We need to network South Africa's biotechnology community to facilitate open
access to knowledge, skills and best practices, and to create a close community
of actors and institutions involved in biotechnology.
BioPAD
BioPAD on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) represents
the interests of Biotechnology in Animal health (AH), Industry, Mining and the
Environment (IME) in South Africa. These interests involve a broad range of
traditional and entrepreneurial biotechnological sciences including agriculture
and food, diagnostics, veterinary science, bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics,
manufacturing and environmental technologies. Through a portfolio of
multi-institutional projects this new center will endeavor towards placing South
Africa amongst the world leaders in the application of biotechnology.
The main objectives are to shape the future of biotechnology in the AH and
IME biotechnology focus area in South Africa by:
- Research and product development;
- Partnering for global opportunities:
- Business development and commercialisation;
- Protecting and licensing intellectual property (IP);
- Biotech financing strategies;
- Capturing the biotech wave;
- Developing emerging technologies;
- Building capacity;
- Creating opportunities for the current skills base.
A distinctive feature of BioPAD is the diversity of its consortium members
and the commitment of each consortium to work collaboratively. Each has proposed
ways in which it can benefit by the resources of partner institutions and made
plans to exchange biological specimens, physical resources and personnel. This
collaborative spirit promises to link the components of the consortia, leverage
their respective skills and more closely integrate researchers who have
traditionally worked in isolation. The fundamental purpose of BioPAD is to
deepen the understanding of modern biotechnology and its uses, imparting a
vision that reaches from the basic sciences to their applications.
It is within his framework that BioPAD proudly announces the future funding
of the projects described below in the fields of Animal health and production,
Industry, Mining and the Environment.
Industry related projects
The first project targets beneficiation of local raw materials and products
derived from the aloe industry. Proprietary technologies will target the local
production of high value fine chemicals destined for export markets. The
establishment of a biotechnological SMME to take advantage of this attractive
opportunity is envisaged.
In another project the consortium is pursuing a unique opportunity in the
high-growth, high-value market for chiral chemicals used in pharmaceutical
production. Biocatalysts from unique South-African biomes are employed to
produce a wide range of single enantiomer chiral epoxides and diols in highly
efficient, environmentally friendly processes. These chiral chemicals are
versatile building blocks in the synthesis of numerous pharmaceuticals and
agrochemicals.
One of the projects will focus on the development of a novel commercial
technology package for the production of a flavourant used in the aroma
industry. Critical to the success of this technology is a bio- transformation
process step, using an enzyme biocatalyst. The focus of the project is to enable
the development of a separate technology package for the production of this
enzyme and the establishment of a SMME to supply a commercial plant with the
required volumes of the biocatalyst. Through the establishment of an enzyme
technology platform, further opportunities in the manufacture of other enzymes
can be commercialised hence realising significant value to the economy in the
field of biotechnology.
Many of the flavour and medicinal compounds in Rooibos tea are trapped within
the cellulolytic plant material, resulting in poor extraction efficiency. This
project therefore aims to identify a specific mix (cocktail) of microbial
enzymes for improved extraction of flavour, antioxidants and soluble matter for
Rooibos tea and its value-addition.
South Africa has a huge natural resource of micro-organisms, but also one
that has hardly been utilised. The project aims to establish a business that
focus on the production of natural flavours and fragrances from micro-
organisms. The consortium of the project is already in the position to produce a
food flavour on large scale. It is envisaged that two other flavours will be
added to the product portfolio of the business during the span of this project.
Due to the unparalleled depths being exposed in South African goldmines, we
now have unprecedented access to organisms from extreme environments (extremophiles).
These organisms are adapted to the high temperatures and other environmental
pressures found at these great depths. Such organisms can therefore provide
genes for uniquely stable enzymes; a valuable asset in industrial processes. We
intend to extract enzyme-encoding genes from deep mine environmental samples and
express them in host organisms. With subsequent screening for activities against
selected substrates, thermotolerant organisms and thermostable enzymes will be
isolated that are suitable for bioremediation, industrial enzymatic processes,
and selective bio- transformations of organic compounds.
One of the other projects intends to develop a new range of temperature
sensitive dyes and food colourants based on astaxanthin and a novel natural
protein. Astaxanthin in its natural state is red in colour, but in the presence
of the protein, changes to dark blue. We will be using modern biotechnology
techniques to isolate, characterise and produce the astaxanthin/protein complex
for application within the food industry.
Animal Health and production
Heartwater is a tick-borne disease, which has been a scourge of South African
livestock owners for over a hundred years. It is one of the most economically
important animal diseases in the country, and throughout Africa, but there is no
reliable vaccine available for use against it. Researchers at Onderstepoort have
been working on heartwater for over 50 years, and recent advances with an
experimental DNA vaccine suggest, that success may finally be on the horizon.
This project will build on the latest progress, with the intention of
commercialisation of an inexpensive and effective vaccine within the next six
years.
Another project deals with the development and validation of a diagnostic
reverse line blot kit to diagnose tick-borne blood parasites of domestic and
wild animals more accurately. This will include the characterization of the
parasites and comparison of the results obtained with techniques currently in
use.
Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a highly contagious and
debilitating viral disease that affects wild and captive populations of
psittacine birds. The disease is difficult to quarantine and there is no known
cure. There are also no commercially available vaccines for the disease. The
consortium is developing products for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
PBFD that will be invaluable to bird breeders, companion bird owners, and
conservation agencies. Industry buy-in has been achieved from at least 2 bird
breeders, both of whom are playing an active role in the project. The market for
these products is already established and is small, but potentially highly
lucrative.
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is probably the most important
disease threatening cattle production in Africa. By using phage display and
cellular immunological methods, potentially protective T and B cell epitopes of
the causative agent Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides SC will be
identified. These epitopes will be expressed in a variety of vaccine vectors and
tested for their ability to protect cattle against CBPP.
Another consortium will establish transgenic fish technology as a tool to
understand feed conversion in fish. Specific objectives include the improvement
of the protein/fat ratio in cultured fish and lower pollution from aquaculture.
The established technologies will deliver competitive advantage for South Africa
to significantly expand its share of the growing global aquaculture industry.
Aquaculture is a rapidly growing market especially in developing countries.
Due to the intensive nature of aquaculture operations, the use of chemicals is
undesirable from an environmental and consumer perspective. The use of
organically certified biological products to prevent disease and improve yields
in aquaculture is a very attractive technology. The proposed technology
development will result in a process for the production of biological products.
The process will be commercialised and result in growth of the Biotechnology
SMME sector of the economy.
Although low concentrations of antibiotics added to feed of poultry and pigs
increases the productivity, it leads to resistant strains of bacteria that can
seriously affect human health. The European Union has prohibited this use of
most antibiotics. We have developed natural plant products that may resolve this
international problem.
Environmental projects
One of the consortia has developed a one stage completely mixed reactor
system to remove sulphate from acid mine waters. In order to make the technology
more cost effective to the coal and gold mines, this consortium is concentrating
on finding a cheaper energy source to be used by the sulphate reducing bacteria,
which are responsible for the reduction of sulphate in the acid mine water.
Another process developed over eight years of basic studies in sulphur cycle
biotechnology, links the co-disposal of organic wastes as the carbon source in
the biological treatment of acid mine drainage wastewaters. In addition to bio-
desalination, neutralization and heavy metal removal operations, this novel
technology platform generates sulphur and treated water as by-products, and
provides an efficient disposal for intractable waste such as sewage sludge and a
range of other organic wastes.
Mining projects
Bioleach technology, that has already been commercialised for gold and
piloted for copper, will now be expanded for application to zinc refining. The
novel biotechnology could be licensed for various zinc refining applications
internationally. Locally in South Africa it could be applied to compete in the
global refining market, and it could provide the technology for realising value
from currently unexploited zinc deposits.
One of the BioPAD consortia together with support from a major mining house,
will be investigating an unique and effective technology for inoculating copper
sulphide heap- bioleaching operations. Existing heap-bio-leaching operations,
annually producing US$0.9-billion worth of copper metal (a figure set to rise to
US$1.5-billion within a few years), have suffered from start-up problems, often
related to ineffective inoculation practices. This technology has the potential
to unlock millions of dollars of value, and to make heap bio-leaching the
technology of choice for the production of copper from sulphide deposits.
eGoli Biotechnology incubator
The eGoli bio-incubator has a major responsibility towards the
commercialisation of biotechnology in South Africa. BioPAD has shown its
commitment to the commercialisation of biotechnology by investing R5 million in
the eGoli bio-incubator. These funds will be used to raise collateral
investments for enabling start-up companies to role out their new technologies
In conclusion Life sciences and biotechnology offer opportunities to address
many of the global needs relating to health, ageing, food and the environment,
and to sustainable development. Broad public support is essential, and ethical
and societal implications and concerns must be addressed. The scientific and
technological revolution is a global reality, which creates new opportunities
and challenges for all countries in the world, rich or poor.
Prof T E Cloete
Interim CEO Biopad
Chairperson: School for Biological Sciences
University of Pretoria
0001 Pretoria
South Africa
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